The End of the End
by Kyoshi7989
Summary: [They have one last night to live.  Somehow, this was a circumstance that they did not expect to go through for a long, long, LONG time.] Zutara, Taang, Sokki.


_#1 End - _Toph supposes the beginning of the end has to start sometime or other, but somehow she didn't think it would be this soon.

_#2 Wish - _Never once has Zuko made a wish, and now he wonders if it would have helped.

_#3 Family - _"You're part of our family now," Katara tells him, and Zuko is painfully reminded that this is a first for him.

_#4 Moon - _As Sokka stares up at the moon he can remember Yue's voice as clearly as if she were right beside him, but as he glances at the Kyoshi Warrior asleep next to him, he wonders if they could have a second chance to be just friends.

_#5 Story - "_Tell me a story," Toph orders, and Zuko suddenly realizes he knows no story but the one he's living.

_#6 Children - _"I named all my kids in advance," Katara says with a rueful smile, "but I guess I'll never get to know what they look like."

_#7 Lose - _They decided to stop arguing long ago, when Zuko realized that this was not the only fight he couldn't win.

_#8 Uncle - _The first to go is always the hardest, they say, but everyone takes comfort that Iroh has died of old age only –they all realized he will be the last to go peacefully.

_#9 Tomb - _Zuko stares down at the marker for his Uncle – his _father_ – and wonders if it is too late to choose good.

_#10 Grace - _Katara glides into the masquerade ball with such poise and charm that no one is surprised when Zuko asks her to dance – the first and last of her life.

_#11 Flowers - _Song wonders who will take care of her flower garden when she's gone.

_#12 Gold - _Suki has not had a chance to practice with her fans for a while, and doubts that it matters at all.

_#13 Bitter - _Katara takes a cool sip of water, and for the first time it tastes bitter on her lips.

_#14 Loss - _Zuko has long felt the loss of his mother eat away at his insides, and feels a strange comfort when he realizes he will be joining her soon.

_#15 Home - _"You know, I always wanted to live on the beach," Katara does not meet Zuko's worried eyes, "But I guess that can't happen now."

_#16 Slip - _"I've never fallen before," Toph claims as she bandages her bloody knees, but even as she says it Aang knows it's not true.

_#17 Scars- _"You know," she says at last, "I knew you were burnt. But I also knew some scars go deeper then flesh."

_#18 Protect - _Toph wants to shove Aang away from her for a moment, just to prove she doesn't need a so-called guard, but with a jolt takes in she may not have another chance to be protected.

_#19 Young - _There are those who would have said "Too young to die", but they have not thought of themselves as children for a long while.

_#20 Tear - _Toph does not normally cry in front of anyone, but here, in Aang's arms, she feels the weight of the world on her shoulders.

_#21 Bright - _Although Twinkletoes has described the sky to her many times, Toph wonders if his words can even come close to seeing what a star really looks like.

_#22 Brother - _Sokka would have done anything to see his sister happy, and wonders if he is doing the right thing – telling Katara he would have been okay with her marriage to Zuko will only make it worse.

_#23 Princess - _Katara recalls a time when she used to pretend she was the queen of a powerful nation, and it almost hurts when she thinks of how close she came to that dream becoming a reality.

_#24 Omen - _Zuko used to wake up in a cold sweat, terrified from a dream he could never remember, and wonders, now that it's started happening again, if it means something.

_#25 Dark - _Aang does not have the energy to keep the flickering flame in his palm alive – Toph won't care anyway.

_#25 Future - _"Come on, you have to get your fortune told," Katara says as she drags Toph into Aunt Wu's shop, even though they both know it won't change a thing.

_#26 Music - _Chong's wavering voice is far from comforting, but seems to keep away the dark thought that haunt Zuko's mind.

_#27 Birthday - _While they haven't openly discussed it, it is an unspoken fact that none will survive to see their eighteenth birthday.

_#28 Glory - _Katara had often pictured her and memory going down in glory, but now she sees it will be spat upon and ridiculed through the centuries.

_#29 Memory - _Sokka tries to commit each day, each minute to memory, for he knows very well that he doesn't have long to remember them.

_#30 Resist - _Katara used to try to resist falling in love – it would only worsen the pain of knowing every day could be her last – but now sees that she must drink up every moment before it's gone.

_#31 Walls - _The Firelight Fountain has not been lit for months now, and Jin knows that if she could have one last chance to see it glowing and bright, her life would be complete.

_#32 Book - _Their lives were all like novels, and the main characters were all too aware of the fact that the last page was not very far away.

_#33 Mask - _The gang has not seen the laughing blue oni mask for a while now, and everyone (or nearly everyone) wonders if the blue spirit has been killed – or maybe if he has decided to take a different path.

_#34 Sand - _Toph lets the sand slip out of her hand – there is nothing worth holding on to anymore.

_#35 Wind - _The wind seems to lift Toph up and caress her cheek, and she suddenly realizes her opposing element isn't that bad.

_#36 Cut - _It is in the dark of night, in the midst of one of his rigorous practices, that Zuko's blade slips and cuts him for the first time.

_#37 Wet - _Katara stands in the rain forlornly, as waves of water cascade all around her, and wonder when the passion she had for her element left her.

_#38 Unsaid - _They do not mention Sozin's Comet, nor the Day of Black Sun (the day that could have saved them all) for everyone seems to prefer silence to senseless chatter.

_#39 Lost - _Only Aang and Katara can recall a time when everyone thought the would get out alive; when a battle wasn't lost before it was even fought.

_#40 Treasure - _Katara is worth more then all the riches in the world to Zuko, and he wonders whose fault it is that he will never get a chance to marry her.

_#41 Tired - _Sokka has not the energy to throw his boomerang, let alone wait for it to come back.

_#42 Last - _Everyone knows this is their last night; they just wish it hadn't been said out loud.

_#43 Sky - _Sozin's Comet streaked across the sky like an enormous fireball, and Aang takes a deep breath, because this is truly the end.

_#44 Farewell - _Although they all would regret it later on, no one had the courage to say goodbye as they should have – as Toph used to say, farewells are for people who aren't coming back.

_#45 Wound - _Through the pain, Sokka is able to realize that he will see Yue again.

_#46 Cry - _It's strange that the last thing Zuko ever sees is Katara's tearstained face looming above him.

_#47_ _Regret - _As flames lick her body, Katara wishes she could have told her father goodbye.

_#48 Warrior - _Suki does not wince as the sword pierces her flesh – she will die with honor.

_#49 Time - _As the soldiers lead Toph to Azula, she feels the time she thought she had slip through her fingers like sand.

_#50 Right - _Aang's last words slip out unnoticed: "Next time, we'll get it right."

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I hate to say it, but I just loved righting this. Death scenes are so much fun! But it did make me sad when I read it over. Read and Review! 


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